The European Copyright Society (ECS) will hold its 10th Annual Conference on 29 May 2026 at the Château de Versailles under the theme: Copyright, Artificial Intelligence and Cultural Heritage Institutions. The conference will bring together leading copyright scholars, policymakers, institutional representatives, and stakeholders to reflect on the evolving role of European copyright doctrine in the age of AI and cultural heritage governance. The full programme, the speakers list, as well as all the practical information are available here.
The European Copyright Society (ECS) (la Société européenne du droit d’auteur) was founded in 2012 with the aim of creating a platform for critical and independent scholarly thinking on European Copyright Law and Policy. Its members are scholars and academics from various countries of Europe, seeking to articulate and promote their views of the overall public interest on all topics in the field of authors rights, neighbouring rights and related matters.
This year’s conference explores the value of a European copyright doctrine in the context of artificial intelligence and cultural heritage institutions. The programme includes discussions on the influence and reception of ECS Opinions, the significance of EU copyright law from the UK perspective, and the role of institutions and stakeholders in European copyright governance. Dedicated panels will address preservation of cultural heritage, out-of-commerce works, text and data mining, works of art in the public domain, open data provisions, and the implications of AI for cultural heritage institutions and copyright law.
The conference will take place on Friday, 29 May 2026, at the auditorium of the Château de Versailles (Pavillon B, 2nd floor), accessible via the main gate (Grille d’honneur), Place d’Armes, Versailles, France. Admission is free of charge, but registration is mandatory and subject to availability. As places are limited, participants are encouraged to register in advance by contacting: marine.bohar2@uvsq.fr.
Check out the programme below and consider joining us at this year’s ECS conference in Château de Versailles.
WHAT IS THE VALUE OF A EUROPEAN COPYRIGHT DOCTRINE?
9.00 – Welcoming
Prof. Claire Bouglé, DANTE co-director
Prof. Sandrine Clavel, DANTE co-director
INITIATIVES FOR BUILDING AN EU COPYRIGHT DOCTRINE
Moderator: Prof. Valérie Laure Benabou, UVSQ/Saclay
9.05 – Why we Founded the ECS. A Reminder
Prof. P. Bernt Hugenholtz, Professor Emeritus, University of Amsterdam, Institute for Information Law (NL)
9.25 – To What Extent are ECS Opinions Reflected in Doctrine?
Prof. Estelle Derclaye, University of Nottingham (UK)
Prof. Peter Mezei, University of Szeged (Hu) and University of Turku (Fin)
9.55 – In or Out ? What Is the Significance of EU Copyright Law from the UK Perspective?
Prof. Jonathan Griffiths, Queen Mary (UK)
Prof. Lionel Bently, Cambridge (UK)
10.15 – Discussion
10.25 – Coffee Break
RECEPTION AND UTILITY OF AN EU COPYRIGHT DOCTRINE
Moderator: Prof. Alain Strowel, Louvain University
10.45 – First Roundtable: The Institutions
Hubert de Verdelhan, Legal secretary, European Union Court of Justice
Emmanuelle Du Chalard, Head of the Copyright Unit of the EU Commission-DG Connect
Julie Samnadda, Legal Service of the European Commission
Axel Voss, Member of the European Parliament (MEP)
11.40 – Discussion
11.50 – Second Roundtable: The Stakeholders
Paul Keller, Director of Policy, Open Future
Burak Ozgen, Deputy Manager, GESAC
Blanche Savary de Beauregard, General Counsel, Mistral AI
12.25 – Discussion
12.35 – Lunchtime
COPYRIGHT, AI AND CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUITIONS
President: Marie Cornu, ISP
EUROPEAN HARMONIZATION FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTIONS: MORE MARGIN OF MANOEUVRE FOR REPRODUCING WORKS
Moderator: Prof. Tatiana Synodinou, Cyprus University
13.50 – Opening
Benjamin Ringot, Chef du service de la recherche, des événements et de la formation, GIP-Centre de recherche du château de Versailles
14.00 – Preservation of Cultural Heritage (article 6 CSDM Directive)
Prof. Caterina Sganga, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna (It)
14.15 – Out-of-Commerce Works & Cultural Heritage (articles 8 to 11 CSDM Directive)
Véronique Delforge, Copyright Legal Expert, Observatory at EUIPO
14.30 – Cultural Heritage Institutions and TDM (article 3 CSDM Directive)
Prof. Thomas Margoni, Leuven University (Be)
Prof. Martin Senftleben, IViR, University of Amsterdam (NL)
15.00 – Works of Art in the Public Domain (article 14 CSDM Directive)
Prof. Séverine Dusollier, Sciences Po Paris (Fr)
15.15 – Discussion
ACCESS, USE AND FUNDING OF CULTURAL HERITAGE INSTITUTIONS IN THE AGE OF AI
Moderator: Prof. Axel Metzger, Humbolt University
15.25 – Is Cultural Value Relevant in the AI Licensing Economy? – An Empirical Assessment
Prof. Martin Kretschmer, CREATe, Glasgow (UK)
15.40 – Building public AI – Copyright Harmonization or Fragmentation?
Prof. Ole-Andreas Rognstad, University of Oslo (Nor)
Prof. Joao Pedro Quintais, University of Amsterdam (NL)
16.10 – Open Data Provisions in the Digital Omnibus: Effect on Cultural Heritage Institutions
Prof. Mireille Van Eechoud, IViR, University of Amsterdam (NL)
16.25 – Cultural Heritage Institutions & AI Outputs
Prof. Christophe Geiger, Luiss University, Rome (It)
16.50 – Discussion and Closing Remarks
Further information on last year’s ECS conference (hosted by CREATe, University of Glasgow) is available on the ECS 2025 conference page: ECS 2025 conference page.
A conference report was subsequently published in GRUR International: Ula Furgał, Aline Iramina, Phalguni Mahapatra and Amy Thomas, “Report on the European Copyright Society’s Annual Conference 2025”, GRUR International (2025), ikaf119: https://doi.org/10.1093/grurint/ikaf119.